Genomics of microbial communities in Thermopolis Hot Springs

This activity has benefited from input from faculty educators beyond the author through a review and suggestion process.
This review took place as a part of a faculty professional development workshop where groups of faculty reviewed each others' activities and offered feedback and ideas for improvements. To learn more about the process On the Cutting Edge uses for activity review, see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.

This page first made public: Aug 8, 2014

Summary

The hot springs (52°C) in Thermopolis, WY contain abundant microbial mats, including mineral-rich filamentous bacteria. While cooler than nearby Yellowstone, Thermopolis contains a number or rare or unique organisms.

This activity begins with a field exploration, then includes DNA extraction and preparation for sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, genomic determination of resulting sequences andstatistically analyzing the resulting sequence data.

Context

Audience

Research on the microbial life of Thermopolis is included in our GEOL 2000 Earth System Science Course. This is a sophomore-level course in
geobiochemistry.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

The prerequisites for this course are a 1000-level chemistry course plus, a 1000-level geology course or a 1000-level biology course. Since it is a sophomore-level course, sophomore level written and oral communications skills are expected.

How the activity is situated in the course

The thermophile project is a culminating project that dominates the second half of the course. In lieu of a final exam, students must present their research projects as either poster or oral, at the Wyoming State Undergraduate Research Day, held at the University of Wyoming at the end of April.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

evolution of life with Earth and search for possible life on other planets

effect of life on atmospheric, hydrospheric and lithospheric processes

field data collection: water chemistry and microbial mat sample description

Brock, Thomas D.
Thermophilic microorganisms and life at high temperatures
Springer-Verlag, 1978
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Science/Science-idx?id=Science.BrockTher

Ch.4 Thermophiles in NPS Yellowstone Research Journal (this site has most images removed to facilitate faster down loading but I can provide a complete version upon request) http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/thermophiles.pdf

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